Senior Men Defeat Women In Gender Battle

April 9, 2000|By LARRY EVANS Special to the Sun-Sentinel

Dutch patron J.J. Oosterom gave up chess to make his fortune, but he never lost his love for the game. In 1992, he came up with the idea of pitting male players over the age of 60 against the best women, now an annual fixture.

This battle of the sexes shifts to a new location each year: Aruba, Vienna, Monaco, Prague, London, Copenhagen. The last match was tied, and the series was in a dead heat going into Marbella, Spain.

Each player faced everyone on the other team twice. The average male rating was 2,559 vs. 2,528, an edge suggesting a six-point victory for the veterans. They actually won by 11 points in 50 games to widen their lead by 250-238 in all eight matches.

Men

1. V. Korchnoi 7.5-2.5

2. L. Portisch 6.5-3.5

3. V. Hort 6.5-3.5

4. B. Spassky 5.5-4.5

5. V. Smyslov 4.5-5.5

Women

1. Xie Jun 4.5-5.5

2. M. Tchiburdanidze 4.5-5.5

3. P. Cramling 4-6

4. Zhu Chen 4-6

5. A. Galliamova 2.5-7.5

The unsinkable Viktor Korchnoi, 68, was overall high-scorer, but no woman could muster an even score.

Female titleholder Xie Jun, 29, of China, drew her first game but lost the second against the legendary Vassily Smyslov, still a mighty force as he approaches 80.